They were wrong. Credit bureaus see your statement balance and don't know where it came from, carried or not. Lower utilization is better.
I guess I'm from Canada.. does that make a difference?
Originally Posted by
ddallas
The way I get the highest score is to pay them all before the statement date (so they report zero balance) except for one card. My FICO score is the highest when only one card reports a balance. It drops 10 points if I pay all the cards before they report so I show 0% utilization. 1% utilization gives a slightly higher score than 0%.
Carrying a balance and paying interest will not give anyone a higher score. You don't get points for that. But you do want to let at least one card report before you pay it, that is if you are trying to maximize your FICO for some reason that month.
Problem is, if the creditor sees a balance of $0.. then they wonder if I keep up with payments or just don't utilize the credit.
Another problem is.. I pay off all my credit cards every month and don't carry a balance.. I'm super sensitive with that kind of stuff. Hopefully, it pays off on my credit score.
